Global Pulse

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  • India orders school water bells to beat heat

    India orders school water bells to beat heat

    As India’s capital New Delhi braces for an approaching severe heatwave, local education authorities have rolled out a series of new protective rules for the city’s schools, including an unusual policy: regular “water bells” to remind children to stay hydrated and avoid dehydration amid soaring temperatures.

    India, the world’s most populous nation, has long grappled with deadly summer heat. Official government data shows that between 2012 and 2021, more than 11,000 people across the country died from heat stroke, a stark reminder of the public health risk posed by extreme high temperatures. The country hit a grim milestone in 2024, when it recorded the hottest annual average temperature since systematic climate record-keeping began in 1901, aligning with the global trend of increasingly frequent extreme weather events driven by human-caused climate change.

    In May 2024, New Delhi saw temperatures climb to 49.2°C, matching the capital’s all-time record high set just two years prior in 2022. While Wednesday morning brought relatively mild conditions, with temperatures hovering at a comfortable 29.4°C across the 30-million-person metropolitan region, forecasters warn that a sharp warm-up is already on the way.

    Temperatures are projected to jump to 41-43°C by Wednesday afternoon, and could climb even higher to 42-44°C by the end of the week. In response, the India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow heatwave alert for the entire Delhi region, signaling that sustained extreme heat is likely to arrive in the coming days.

    On Tuesday, the Delhi Directorate of Education released an official set of guidelines outlining new heat safety protocols for all city schools, designed to protect student health as temperatures rise. Beyond the distinctive water bell policy, the guidelines require schools to restrict or cancel all strenuous outdoor physical activities, hold public awareness sessions to educate students on the importance of consistent hydration, curtail outdoor school assemblies or move them to shaded or indoor spaces held for shorter durations, and ban all open-air classes entirely.

    One of the most unique requirements is the mandatory water bell system, which requires schools to ring a bell every 45 to 60 minutes throughout the school day specifically to remind students to stop and drink water to prevent dehydration. Another innovative addition to the guidelines is a mandated buddy system: every student is paired with a peer to monitor one another’s physical well-being and catch early signs of heat-related illness before they become serious. This low-cost, easy-to-implement policy is designed to help school staff catch at-risk students who may not speak up about discomfort on their own.

  • Fiji villagers reject plan for ‘Pacific ashtray’ in beach paradise

    Fiji villagers reject plan for ‘Pacific ashtray’ in beach paradise

    A $630 million proposal to construct a massive waste-to-energy incinerator on Fiji’s main island has ignited widespread public and political pushback, with critics decrying the project as a form of “waste colonialism” that threatens one of the South Pacific’s most beloved coastal tourism hubs.

    The initiative is led by two Australian businessmen: Ian Malouf, founder of the Australian waste disposal giant Dial-a-Dump, and Rob Cromb, owner of the global fashion label Kookai, who was born in Fiji and maintains manufacturing operations for his brand in the country. The pair plan to build both the incinerator and a dedicated port just 15 kilometers from Nadi, Fiji’s primary international tourism gateway that welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to its iconic white-sand beaches and coral reefs.

    According to project projections, the facility would process up to 900,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste each year. Proponents argue the incinerator could meet 40% of Fiji’s total electricity demand, cutting the small island nation’s heavy reliance on expensive and polluting diesel-generated power. In a formal statement, Cromb noted that energy-from-waste systems are widely deployed in regions with strict global environmental standards, asserting that diverting waste from landfills—where methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, is released—would deliver net lifecycle emissions benefits. He also emphasized the project would address Fiji’s own domestic waste management challenges and rejected claims that it would primarily import foreign waste. “It is not a project intended to import waste from overseas,” Cromb said, adding that developer TNG has taken local concerns over environmental safety, transparency, and project scale seriously.

    However, official project documents submitted to Fiji’s government tell a different story: the facility is designed to process not only local waste but also up to 700,000 tonnes of waste shipped annually from Australia and other regional economies. Environmental documents also confirm the incinerator would increase Fiji’s total national greenhouse gas emissions by 25%—a striking figure for a low-lying island nation that has positioned itself as a global leader in climate change advocacy. Opponents add that toxic ash residue and dioxin emissions would contaminate local fishing grounds and the broader food chain, threatening the livelihoods of coastal villages that have relied on the ocean for generations.

    The project already faced a high-profile rejection years earlier in Australia: Malouf spent seven years pursuing approval for an identical waste-to-energy facility near Sydney’s Blacktown suburb, only to have it blocked in 2018 over documented risks to public health. Stephen Bali, who led local opposition as Blacktown mayor and now serves as a member of New South Wales’ state parliament, has publicly called on Fijian officials to commission independent scientific analysis of the proposal. “Gathering up rubbish from Australia, driving it in a diesel truck to port, putting it on a diesel ship to Fiji to be offloaded — it would be interesting to look at those emissions,” Bali told Agence France-Presse. “We need to deal with our own waste.”

    On Tuesday, Inoke Tora, a traditional Fijian landowner, traveled by bus from the proposed project site to the capital city of Suva to deliver a villagers’ petition opposing the plan to Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. “There are hundreds of people living in villages in this place and they fish each day, eat fresh crabs. They call that beach paradise,” Tora told AFP during his journey. “The government should stop this.”

    High-profile Fijian figures have echoed the opposition. Fiji’s United Nations Ambassador Filipo Tarakinikini wrote in a social media post Monday that the Vuda Coast, the project’s proposed location, “must not become the Pacific’s ashtray,” echoing widespread criticism that wealthy nations are shifting their waste burdens to vulnerable Pacific island states, a practice opponents label as waste colonialism. Fiji’s Tourism Ministry has also warned that the incinerator could jeopardize the entire Nadi tourism region—Fiji’s economic backbone, which draws millions of visitors annually drawn to the country’s reputation as an unspoiled eco-tourism destination. The ministry noted that similar waste facilities globally are sited far from population centers and tourist hubs, while this proposal would place the incinerator near residential villages, hotels, and local schools. Local resident Eremasi Matanatabu, a food company manager based in the region, added that the industrial facility would irreparably alter the historic bay where the first Fijian settlers arrived centuries ago. “It will stick out like a big sore thumb,” he said.

    Opponents also point out that importing large volumes of foreign waste to Fiji would violate the 1989 Basel Convention, a global treaty restricting transboundary movement of hazardous waste, which both Australia and Fiji have ratified. As of this week, Fijian environmental officials confirmed the project is still under formal intergovernmental review, with no final decision yet reached. Malouf has not responded to multiple requests for comment from AFP.

  • ‘No ability or power’: Radio giant’s claim about bullying in Kyle & Jackie O stoush

    ‘No ability or power’: Radio giant’s claim about bullying in Kyle & Jackie O stoush

    One of Australia’s biggest radio powerhouses has fired back in a high-stakes legal battle with its former star breakfast duo, Kyle Sandilands and Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, making a bombshell legal claim that it had no ability to intervene to stop alleged on-air bullying against Henderson. Court documents filed by ARN Media’s subsidiary Commonwealth Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) have pulled back the curtain on the network’s formal defence, launched after both popular hosts launched multi-million-dollar lawsuits following their abrupt firing earlier this year.

    The sacking came in the wake of a fiery on-air blow-up between the long-time co-hosts, where Sandilands publicly lashed out at Henderson, calling her “off with the fairies”, “unfocused” and accusing her of not caring about their top-rating KIIS FM breakfast program. The explosive argument, which grew out of Sandilands’ criticism of Henderson’s well-known public interest in astrology, marked the breaking point for a working relationship that had been strained by allegations of ongoing mistreatment.

    Following their termination, both Sandilands and Henderson have taken legal action against the network, with vastly different claims. Henderson, through her production company Henderson Media, alleges her dismissal amounted to unlawful adverse action after she informed the network she could no longer continue working alongside Sandilands. She is seeking a staggering $82 million in compensation for the early termination of her 10-year contract, which paid Henderson Media $9.4 million annually to deliver her on-air services.

    For his part, Sandilands is pushing for immediate reinstatement to his old role. He argues that his blunt, abrasive comments to Henderson were simply in line with the on-air persona CBC actively cultivated for the show, and that his firing is unlawful because no serious misconduct or breach of contract actually occurred.

    In its formal defence lodged with the Federal Court, ARN has pushed back hard against both claims, taking a particularly controversial stance on Henderson’s bullying allegations. The network confirms it holds service contracts with the hosts’ own separate production companies – Henderson Media for Henderson, and Quasar for Sandilands – not with the personalities directly. ARN argues that under the terms of these commercial agreements, the production companies hold exclusive responsibility for controlling how program services are delivered, and for ensuring the health and safety of their talent while they are on air.

    “As a consequence, once any broadcast began, CBC had no ability or power to contemporaneously prevent Mr Sandilands from engaging in bullying or other unwanted conduct towards Ms Henderson,” the defence documents state. The network further emphasized that the $9.4 million annual deal with Henderson Media explicitly places the obligation to protect Henderson’s wellbeing on her own company.

    Henderson’s legal team has painted a far different picture of events. In a formal complaint letter sent to ARN and CBC just days after the February 20 incident, which was included in the network’s defence filing, lawyers allege that Henderson endured persistent, relentless bullying at Sandilands’ hands for a long time before the public blow-up. The letter claims that ARN had repeated opportunities to address the behaviour, but failed to take meaningful action, both legally and ethically.

    “The simple fact is that our client has been attacked and bullied on live prime time radio,” the complaint reads. “The consistent and ongoing bullying has left Ms Henderson psychologically unwell and has defamed and humiliated her in a public forum.” At the time the letter was sent, Henderson’s legal team noted she was actively considering additional defamation proceedings against the network and Sandilands.

    Both legal matters connected to the former KIIS FM stars are scheduled for a directions hearing in the Federal Court this Friday, marking the first public step in what is expected to be one of the highest-profile media legal battles in recent Australian history.

  • Taiwan president cancels trip after African countries close airspace

    Taiwan president cancels trip after African countries close airspace

    A landmark development in cross-strait diplomatic tensions has forced Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te to scrap a planned overseas trip to Eswatini, marking the first publicly recorded instance of a Taiwanese leader abandoning a foreign journey after multiple countries revoked required overflight access.

    Lai was scheduled to travel to the southern African nation, Taiwan’s only remaining diplomatic ally on the continent, to participate in celebrations marking 40 years of King Mswati III’s reign. According to senior Taiwanese officials, three island nations in the Indian Ocean — Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar — withdrew their previously granted overflight permissions following what Taipei describes as “intense pressure” and economic coercion from Beijing.

    In a public statement posted to the social platform X, Lai pushed back against Beijing’s actions, framing the permit revocations as clear examples of authoritarian coercion that highlight broader threats to global international order. “No amount of threats or coercion will shake Taiwan’s resolve to engage with the world,” Lai wrote.

    For its part, Beijing has rejected accusations of coercion, instead praising the three African countries for upholding the long-standing one-China principle, which forms the foundation of Beijing’s territorial claim to the self-governing island. In official comments, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office expressed “high appreciation” for the position taken by Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs went further, reiterating that no official title of “President of the Republic of China” holds any international recognition, in a direct rebuke of Lai’s status. Both Seychelles and Madagascar have publicly confirmed their decision to revoke permits stems from their non-recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state, aligning with Beijing’s position.

    Eswatini’s government has expressed regret over the canceled visit but emphasized that the disruption will not alter the long-standing bilateral diplomatic ties between the two nations. Currently, only 12 United Nations member states around the world recognize Taiwan diplomatically, most of them small island nations in Latin America and the Pacific.

    Cross-strait relations have remained strained since Lai took office, with Beijing repeatedly labeling Lai a “troublemaker” who threatens cross-strait peace. Beijing maintains that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory, a position it has defended for decades, and has not ruled out the use of military force to bring the island under its control. Most of the international community, including the United Nations, recognizes the one-China principle, though many Western nations maintain unofficial economic and cultural ties with Taiwan.

    The cancellation has already drawn criticism from U.S. political leaders. The majority staff of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee issued a statement on X affirming that it “stood with Taiwan against this blatant coercion.” U.S. Senator Ted Cruz also publicly condemned Mauritius’s decision, claiming the country was “determined to ally with the Chinese Communist Party.”

  • Thirteen killed in second India fireworks blast in three days

    Thirteen killed in second India fireworks blast in three days

    A devastating explosion at an illegal makeshift firecracker assembly site in India’s southern Kerala state has left at least 13 people dead and multiple others critically injured, marking the second fatal industrial disaster in the country’s fireworks sector within seven days.

    The blast struck shortly after 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday in the city of Thrissur, where roughly 40 workers were gathering to assemble fireworks ahead of the upcoming Thrissur Pooram, one of India’s most prominent annual Hindu temple festivals. Local authorities confirmed that five of the injured are in life-threatening condition, and damage from the explosion extended to nearby residential structures, with the shockwave felt as far as several kilometers away — so powerful that many local residents initially misidentified it as an earthquake.

    Witnesses reported chaotic scenes in the immediate aftermath of the blast, with local residents rushing to the site to pull survivors and deceased victims out of the rubble before official emergency teams arrived. The response effort was significantly hampered by the location of the temporary assembly sheds: the structures were built alongside rural paddy fields with narrow, unpaved access roads that slowed the arrival of fire trucks and ambulances. The initial blast also triggered a series of secondary smaller explosions from stored firework materials, forcing rescuers to pause operations while hazards were neutralized.

    Officials confirmed the workers were contracted to produce fireworks for the Thiruvambady Temple, one of the two main temple groups that host the iconic competitive fireworks display that is the centerpiece of the 7-day Thrissur Pooram festival. Kerala’s Revenue Minister K Rajan told reporters that the organizing committee held official permission to produce and store fireworks in designated, regulated areas, but it remains unclear why assembly was taking place at the unauthorized rural makeshift site. Food preparations for roughly 40 workers were found at the site, confirming that a large workforce was present when the explosion occurred, though an exact headcount remained incomplete in the hours after the disaster.

    While the exact cause of the blast has not been confirmed, Thrissur’s municipal chairman PN Surendran told reporters that high mid-afternoon temperatures may have been a contributing factor. “There is still no clarity on how many workers were in the shed or the full extent of injuries,” Surendran said. “It is suspected that extreme heat may have triggered this tragedy.”

    This explosion comes just three days after a separate blast at a firecracker factory in neighboring Tamil Nadu state killed 25 people, bringing the total death toll from fireworks sector accidents in south India this week to 38. Deadly explosions are an endemic, recurring crisis in India’s $1 billion fireworks industry, which supplies pyrotechnics for religious festivals, weddings, and cultural celebrations across the country. The sector is dominated by informal, unregulated small-scale operations that handle highly explosive raw chemicals in cramped, low-cost facilities, where even a tiny stray spark can trigger a catastrophic blast.

    India’s largest fireworks production hub is Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, which produces more than 90% of the country’s domestic firecracker supply. A 2010 study documented nearly 10,000 fireworks-related accidents in Sivakasi between 2003 and 2010 alone, including almost 400 fatal incidents. Weak regulatory enforcement and surging consumer demand ahead of major festivals like Diwali routinely push safety protocols to the background, with factory owners often cutting corners to meet deadlines and keep costs low.

    Kerala has already seen one of the deadliest fireworks disasters in Indian history: a 2016 explosion at an unauthorized fireworks display at the Puttingal Temple in Kollam killed more than 100 people and injured 400 others. Investigations later found that basic safety rules were completely ignored, with explosives stored in unregulated makeshift sheds, and community competitive pressure overriding existing safety regulations.

    In response to Tuesday’s disaster, Kerala authorities have ordered a full magisterial inquiry to determine the cause of the blast and assign responsibility for any safety violations. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has announced that the state government will bring in specialized burn care experts from other regions of India if needed to treat injured victims. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also released a statement offering condolences and announcing official financial assistance: 200,000 Indian rupees (roughly $2,140) for each victim’s family, and 50,000 rupees for each injured survivor.

  • Iran fires on container ship in Strait of Hormuz

    Iran fires on container ship in Strait of Hormuz

    In a sudden escalation of maritime tensions in the Persian Gulf’s critical chokepoint, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched an unprovoked attack on a commercial container vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, damaging the ship just days after the United States seized an Iranian cargo ship and boarded a Tehran-linked oil tanker in the Indian Ocean over the weekend.

    The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), the British military body that monitors commercial shipping activity across the region, confirmed the assault took place at approximately 7:55 a.m. local time in the strategic waterway, which handles roughly one-fifth of the world’s daily oil trade. According to UKMTO’s initial public advisory, the Revolutionary Guard gunboat that carried out the firing did not attempt to contact or hail the targeted container ship before opening fire, a departure from standard maritime protocols for stopping or inspecting vessels.

    Fortunately, the incident did not result in any casualties among the ship’s crew, and preliminary assessments found no risk of environmental damage stemming from the attack, UKMTO added. As of Wednesday, Iranian officials had not issued any immediate statement or acknowledgment of the assault on the vessel.

    The attack comes at a moment of already heightened friction between Iran and Western powers, and it comes on the same day that planned ceasefire talks between Iran and a group of armed militants based in Pakistan were expected to begin — talks that ultimately failed to materialize, creating another layer of instability across the broader Middle East. The assault also directly follows two separate U.S. actions targeting Iranian shipping over the preceding weekend: U.S. forces seized an Iranian container vessel after opening fire on it, and also conducted a boarding operation against an oil tanker linked to Iran’s sanctioned oil trade in the Indian Ocean. Analysts warn the tit-for-tat targeting of commercial shipping in one of the world’s most vital maritime chokepoints risks further escalating regional tensions and disrupting global energy supply chains already facing significant volatility.

  • Asian benchmarks are mixed in cautious trading amid uncertainty about US-Iran ceasefire talks

    Asian benchmarks are mixed in cautious trading amid uncertainty about US-Iran ceasefire talks

    Global financial markets traded with caution on Wednesday, as investors held their breath for developments in U.S.-Iran diplomatic efforts following a last-minute extension of a temporary ceasefire that was scheduled to expire.

    The day of trading kicked off in Asian markets, where benchmark indexes delivered a mixed performance amid ongoing uncertainty. Japan’s Nikkei 225 notched a 0.3% uptick to close at 59,530.64, while South Korea’s Kospi followed suit with a 0.4% gain to reach 6,413.62. Mainland China’s Shanghai Composite also edged up 0.3% to end the session at 4,096.59. On the downside, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.2% to 8,841.00, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 1.3% to settle at 26,140.05.

    Sentiment shifted lower across the Atlantic in U.S. trading after U.S. Vice President JD Vance announced the cancellation of a planned trip to Pakistan, where he was set to lead a U.S. negotiating delegation in talks with Iranian representatives aimed at extending the ceasefire. The S&P 500 wiped out early gains to finish 0.6% lower at 7,064.01, while both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite also recorded 0.6% drops, closing at 49,149.38 and 24,259.96 respectively. Less than 10 minutes after the U.S. market closed for the day, former President Donald Trump confirmed he would extend the ceasefire to give Iran additional time to draft and submit a formal proposal to end the ongoing conflict.

    Energy markets also saw muted movement after weeks of volatility tied to the conflict. Benchmark U.S. crude slipped 19 cents to trade at $89.48 per barrel during Wednesday’s Asian session, while Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil pricing, lost 12 cents to settle at $98.36 per barrel. These small shifts stand in sharp contrast to the extreme swings that roiled markets in the early days of the conflict, when Brent crude briefly spiked above $119 per barrel and the S&P 500 dropped nearly 10% below its previous all-time high.

    Much of the market’s focus has centered on the Strait of Hormuz, the critical narrow waterway running along Iran’s coast that carries a large share of the world’s daily oil shipments out of the Persian Gulf. Net oil importers such as Japan, which sources nearly all of its crude through global shipping lanes, have already taken proactive steps: the Japanese government has released strategic petroleum reserves and is evaluating alternative shipping routes to mitigate potential supply disruptions.

    Despite the lingering uncertainty, U.S. stocks remain near the record high set just the previous Friday, a signal that investors still hold cautious optimism that Washington and Tehran will avoid a full-scale escalation that would trigger severe economic damage. Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, noted that Trump’s last-minute extension preserves the current uneasy standoff rather than resolving the underlying conflict. “While the pause has reduced immediate tail risks, the absence of a genuine breakthrough means traders remain inclined to tiptoe rather than trade with real conviction,” Waterer explained.

    In other asset classes, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 4.31%, up from 4.26% recorded at the close of Monday’s session, with gains accelerating through the day alongside modest movement in oil prices. In foreign exchange markets, the U.S. dollar edged slightly lower against the Japanese yen, falling to 159.33 yen from 159.38 yen. The euro also slipped marginally to $1.1740, down from $1.1744 in the previous session.

  • ‘Hoodoos’: Souths aim to end crazy losing streak in Melbourne against Storm side that is in all sorts

    ‘Hoodoos’: Souths aim to end crazy losing streak in Melbourne against Storm side that is in all sorts

    In the brutal, unpredictable world of National Rugby League, few hoodoos loom as large or as unbreakable as the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ staggering 20-match losing streak against the Melbourne Storm on Melbourne home soil. Yet, as the two clubs prepare to clash on Anzac Day, the Bunnies find themselves presented with the best possible opportunity to finally slay this decades-long ghost, taking on a Storm side mired in a five-match losing slide and lingering near the bottom of the 2026 NRL ladder.

    The grim numbers behind the streak paint a picture of complete dominance from the Storm across every era and venue in Melbourne. Across seven clashes at the old Olympic Park stadium, Melbourne outscored South Sydney by a lopsided 288 points to just 42. Since the Storm moved to AAMI Park, the result has remained the same: the Rabbitohs have dropped all 13 matches played at the venue, with three of those losses coming by a single, devastating point that has only added to the curse’s reputation.

    Despite the weight of this historic failure, South Sydney’s leadership and playing group say they have deliberately avoided discussing the streak inside the change rooms, choosing instead to focus on the task at hand rather than the ghosts of matches past. Fresh off a dominant victory over the St. George Illawarra Dragons, where star fullback Latrell Mitchell turned in a career-defining performance with four tries, captain Cameron Murray says he refuses to give the hoodoo any extra mental weight.

    When asked what could finally make the unwanted streak change on Saturday night, Murray downplayed the significance of past results, pointing to the New Zealand Warriors’ recent end to their own 17-match losing skid against the Storm as proof that old records can be broken. “I honestly try not to think too much about records or any hoodoos or anything like that,” Murray told reporters. “It’s always a big challenge going down to Melbourne. They’ve been the top team, the pinnacle of this competition for a long time. Playing them in their backyard has proven to be a little bit extra hard coming up against a team like that. They’re always strong, Melbourne. We always have to be on our A-game and we have to be ready to work hard for a win.”

    While the Storm’s aura of invincibility appears to have fractured in the 2026 season, ravaged by a long list of key injury absences that have left the perennial powerhouse sliding down the ladder, Murray warned against underestimating Craig Bellamy’s side. He noted that the 2026 NRL season has been the most competitive in recent memory, with any side capable of pulling off an upset on any given weekend, rendering traditional form guides all but useless.

    “I haven’t been keeping too close an eye on how they’ve been going, but the competition’s hard now,” Murray said. “It’s probably more even than it has been in the past, and we’ve always maintained the fact that any NRL team who turns up on their day is a hard team to beat. I guess that’s just proven this year with the mixed results. Staying true to that mentality, Melbourne have got the talent and the skill across the park to be dangerous regardless of how they’ve started the season. They’ve got some world-class players in that team, so we certainly won’t be taking them lightly and we’ll certainly be preparing for a good Melbourne team.”

    For the Rabbitohs, one bright spot heading into the clash is the incredible try-scoring form of record-breaking winger Alex Johnston against the Storm. Across 15 career matches against Melbourne, Johnston has crossed for 17 tries, a haul that most strike forwards would envy over an entire career. Like his captain, Johnston says he has no interest in dwelling on the club’s historic losing streak, focusing instead on executing South Sydney’s game plan to get the win.

    “That’s the past and we’re here to do a job this week,” Johnston said. “It should be a good little trip down there and we’re in a good space. We’ve just got to focus on playing good footy ourselves. We haven’t spoken about it until now when you brought it up. We haven’t really spoken about it and we’re just here to play and focus on ourselves and play good footy.”

  • Iranians have long sought work and relative stability in Turkey. The war could force some to return

    Iranians have long sought work and relative stability in Turkey. The war could force some to return

    For thousands of Iranians who built fragile new lives in neighboring Turkey, regional conflict has turned a precarious temporary existence into a daily fight for stability, separating families and forcing impossible choices between staying and returning to a homeland mired in violence.

  • Child safety staff suspended after bombshell review finds foster kids housed with triple-murderer Regina Arthurell

    Child safety staff suspended after bombshell review finds foster kids housed with triple-murderer Regina Arthurell

    A catastrophic failure of child protection protocols in New South Wales (NSW), Australia has sparked widespread public anger after a damning independent review revealed two vulnerable foster children were placed in the home of a convicted triple killer, despite an explicit warning raised with official child protection services.

    The NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) launched the review after Sydney radio outlet 2GB broke the story of the shocking placement last month. The investigation uncovered that a concerned individual first contacted the state’s official child protection helpline in December last year to flag that convicted serial killer Regina Arthurell, formerly known as Reginald Arthurell, was already living with one foster child.

    Rather than launching an urgent risk assessment, department staff dismissed the warning based on unsubstantiated assumptions about Arthurell’s age, wheelchair use and existing supervision arrangements. Shockingly, just three months later in March, a second foster child was approved to move into the same home.

    Arthurelle’s criminal record is one of the most serious in New South Wales justice history: the 50-year-old (who transitioned from male to female while serving a 24-year sentence for the 1995 murder of his fiancée) has three separate homicide convictions. In 1974, he was found guilty of stabbing his stepfather to death, followed by a 1981 conviction for killing a man during an armed robbery, before his 1995 conviction for bludgeoning his fiancée to death with a wooden plank. He was released from custody prior to the foster placement.

    The DCJ’s official review concluded that child safety was never made the central priority of the decision-making process that led to the placements. The investigation confirmed existing departmental policies and protocols were completely ignored, and required cross-checks within the department’s own case management system were never completed.

    “The offender’s history stood out as a clear indicator that they should not have been residing with children without a thorough, holistic risk assessment,” DCJ Secretary Michael Tidball stated in the official review report. “The safety of the children was not placed at the centre of decision-making. The review identified significant failures in casework practice, highlighting shortcomings in risk identification and assessment, triage, and safeguards within the child protection response for the children.”

    Following the release of the review’s findings, two senior child protection workers involved in the placement decisions have been suspended from duty. Tidball has referred the full report to the DCJ’s internal conduct division to launch a formal misconduct investigation, though no official findings against the workers have been published at this stage.

    NSW Minister for Families and Communities Kate Washington described the incident as an unacceptable failure that should never have occurred. “I was just so sorry that it had,” Washington told 2GB. “Not only have they made a determination based on unverified information about age and capacity, you know, the fellow was a serial killer.”

    Washington emphasized that the failure stemmed from individual wrong decisions that directly violated departmental rules, not a lack of system capacity or resources. “To be really clear, we had capacity in the system at the time for an investigation to be undertaken, we had the resources,” she said. “It was wrong calls made at the wrong time, but they are working in very difficult, complex environments. Our DCJ child protection caseworkers see the worst of the worst in our society, they walk into homes where parents are harming their children. There are difficult decisions made daily by our case workers, but we do expect them to follow department policies and procedures, and that’s what didn’t happen on these occasions that led to this awful situation.”